Gake no Ue no Fujimoto
by SophiaOfWolven
Summary: Fujimoto defiantly stood out against his family, even though his parents loved him dearly and his sister always clung to him. But it was perhaps his brother and his constant out casting, caused his life to flow how it did towards the sea.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I'm going to apologise now for the parents back story... And the mother's name. I'm bad when it comes to doing that for characters I won't properly feature strongly past name reference. The name apology will make more sense next chapter when I post it, but still... apology now. **

**I'm jumping the band wagon for stories on Fujimoto's past. I've seen amazing ones, and some not so amazing. So I thought I'd try it, with more thought not into why he doesn't like humans, but into maybe why he was so concerned over Ponyo becoming a human and falling in love with a human. Anyway, enjoy.**

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Fujimoto had, as much as he hated it, been human. When he had watched Ponyo kiss Sosuke, turning for the final time into a human, his heart sank at the prospect of her repeating what he had done in reverse. Why, he thought, anyone who had the whole ocean to explore would want to become human, confused him. The whole event of the past few days confused him.

Staring down at the small drift of water he was stood in, where he was stuck, he sighed and turned around. Wading his way to his boat, he took a final look at Ponyo, Brunhilda, before climbing aboard the deck and feeling the living boat descend bellow the water.

As the boat steered through the water, heading to the coral castle, he wondered about his own experiences with falling in love. In love with the ocean, and someone he shouldn't have.

His story was not that different from Ponyo's.

He was the youngest of three children. His mother, whose parents were westerners who moved to Japan, and father from the heart of Tokyo. Both had met by almost chance and fallen in love and had seen so much of the world. They moved from Japan but soon found themselves years later, during their pregnancy of Fujimoto, moving back to Japan where they felt they should be. This change in home meant Fujimoto was named to appear more Japanese like his father, but none the less he stood out as not appearing like his father.

Fujimoto stood out against his older siblings, who both appeared as twins despite a year between their ages. His much brighter hair that always fell to his shoulders was wavy and a constant mess, a look common to his mother. But, he had his father's hollow face, giving his eyes a haunted look and a constant tired appearance. The only feature he appreciated from such a young age was his eyes. Wide and bright blue, they always had a sparkle - even in the dark. The second and final feature from his mother.

Both his brother and sister had darker auburn hair and had their mothers face that was relaxed and soft. They didn't have the blue eyes however; his sister had darker but lifeless blue eyes, while his brother had brown eyes from their father.

Fujimoto defiantly stood out against his family, even though his parents loved him dearly and his sister always clung to him. But it was perhaps his brother and his constant out casting, caused his life to flow how it did towards the sea.


	2. Chapter one, Train Ride

**AN: Okay, ignore the bit about the name for Fujimoto's mother... changed it. Found a better replacement. **

**I hope you find Fujimoto to be in character, even at a younger stage. As I see it, he'd be quiet and slightly alienated but excitable over set things, mainly the ocean. With his appearance for facial features, I see him carrying the older look as you see in the movie (only not to that extreme, more like he doesn't sleep properly) but when excited or happy, his face can lose that tired feature and reveal a more younger appearance - very much like the movie. And I explain his younger face being a result of his mother's genes. **

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The train skimmed past the bare countryside, the afternoon sun casting shadows to the passengers inside. Most of them were slumped in sleeps from the long ride, but a group of five were sat at the back on their own, awake and excited. Three children sat on one side of the table while their parents talked quietly to themselves.

The oldest, a boy of eight, sat staring out the window and the green landscape. His dark almost black auburn hair sat trimmed short, the longest strand passing over his ear. Next to him sat a young girl, similar in appearance, drawing while her hair fell wildly over her shoulders and into her face. Finally, on the end, sat the youngest - his longer hair sat bellow his shoulders, standing up untamed. His bright eyes were cast on the table, and the darkness around them made him appear tired and bored. He slowly rubbed his arm, from where his brother had just pushed him away from trying to look out the window better.

"Fujimoto, don't look so upset. We're almost there."

Fujimoto glanced up at his concerned mother and paused his movements, before looking back down and his eyes becoming lost in his fringe. Liz frowned lightly, looking across at her husband Takeshi. Takeshi with his short black hair glanced at their other son and leant towards him. "Sora, apologise to your brother now."

Sora continued to look out the window, ignoring his father. "Sora, apologise. It's wrong to hit people."

Sora glanced over his shoulders at his year younger sister, Aimi, before sighing and turning around to look at Fujimoto. "I'm sorry I hit you," he said rather sarcastically while turning back to the window.

"Can I look out the window now then?"

"No."

Fujimoto shrunk in his seat, causing Aimi to stop with her drawing and poke Sora in the side for being cruel again. "I know Fujimoto, why don't you sit in the spare seat over there. You'll get to see then, something better than Sora."

He looked up at his mother, eyes filling with tears. "But I want to look out that window. And I'll be on my own over there."

Liz smiled softly at him, holding her hand out. "Then, why don't we go sit over there together?"

Fujimoto moved his hair away from his face and wiped his eyes, before taking his mothers hand and climbing from his seat. She led him to the opposite table, allowing him to climb onto his seat first before getting comfortable in her own. Fujimoto's face lit up as he finally got a good view out the train, of the land speed pass as well as something glistening in the distance.

Standing on his seat, he pressed his face against the window, smiling faintly. "Mum, what's that?"

He pointed, pressing a finger against the cool glass. Liz looked out the window and smiled. "That's, the ocean."

With his excitement, Fujimoto's hair seem to grow thicker and stand up. "Are we going to it? It looks pretty."

Liz leaned forward and looked around. "See that lonely house there?"

Fujimoto looked around before finally spotting a small house almost on its own on a high point. He made a noise of agreement and nodded. "Well, that's where we're going. Our new house. See how close it is to the ocean?"

Fujimoto's face lit up and the tired hollow look faded away to show more of his mother. "I do, I do, I do!"

He finally looked away from the window, smiling at his mother. She smiled back and continued to stare at the small town that was slowly coming into view. As a final act, Fujimoto turned around to his brother - who sat looking jealous - and stuck his tongue out at him.

Sora grunted in annoyance, before turning to look out his window, hoping to see something better than the silly ocean. Aimi smiled into her drawing, while Takeshi leaned into his seat, closing his eyes in the shade.

At the back of the train, sat a large family split to please the two sons. The youngest sat in the sun gazing out to the ocean, slowly falling in love with its appearance alone.


	3. Chapter two, Always The Same

The sun was nearly touching the water front when Fujimoto found himself stood on the train platform, surrounded by suitcases. Grandma and Grandfather were both stood talking to his parents, explaining their own journey of bringing items to the new house. "I'm glad you managed to get everything down earlier and arrange it. Is the house big enough?"

Fujimoto wasn't interested in this talk, so instead he wandered from where he was meant to be stood protecting the suitcases, and moved closer to the railing to look at the town bellow. The gentle breeze brought the smell of salt and freshness to his lungs that soothed him and created a lazy smile. Out stretched from the harbour was the vast ocean, which now looked bigger and more beautiful than it had been in the distance. After taking a deep breath, smoothing his hair down to try and get more order, he walked back to the suitcases and hid amongst them again.

"So, how are the children then?"

"They're fine. The same as usual," there was a small laugh from Takeshi.

"What about Fujimoto? He never seems to interact much when we see him."

"He's just shy that's all. Once he gets use to you, he's a bundle of laughs."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

Looking up, Fujimoto felt tears fill his eyes again. He never liked his Grandmother, due to her strictness. He knew they disapproved of his mother, and due to her, the children with red hair. And Fujimoto was their least favourite due to that.

Fujimoto rubbed his eyes, and walked from behind the suitcases and towards his mother, locking his hand in hers. Automatically, his Grandmothers face lit up with instant fake. "Ah, Fujimoto. My how you've grown... and your hair too. You should think about getting it cut."

The last sentence had been a blunt order, causing him to sink slightly behind his mother's legs, twisting a stand around his finger. "Hmm, always the same."

Sora then, finally climbing back up the stairs from the car park, ran towards the congress of people, smiling. "Grandparents!"

"Sora, how are you?"

While true delight grew on the old lady's face at her other grandchildren, Fujimoto felt a small tap on his shoulder. "I wouldn't listen to her. Your hair's lovely."

Fujimoto smiled shyly at his grandfather, finally allowing the strand to leave his fingers. The old man smiled back at him, before standing properly and checking his watch. "I think it's time we took our seats dear. We've got a long journey back."

There was a nod, followed by swift hugs before finally the grandparents disappeared on the train. Fujimoto instantly took his hand from his mothers, and walked away and down the path to explore. Without the watching eyes passing constant judgement, he felt safer, he felt himself.

Standing taller, he continued to run down the steep steps until he finally reached the quiet parking space, with only seagulls crying out. Staring at a gull stood near him, he climbed onto the bottom rail, spreading his arms out into the wind.

The sensation felt so good, relaxing. It made such a difference to be away from the stuffy city, there was so much life in the air alone.

Bringing his hands back down to the rail, he reached the seagull that stared intently at him. It didn't move, even when his hand hovered slowly to touch the feathers. "Idiot, you don't touch birds."

Sora pulled his hand away, and the bird instantly flew into the sky, after flapping in Sora's face. Both Sora and Fujimoto watched the bird disappear, Sora in hate, Fujimoto in confusion as to why it only attacked Sora. "Come on, we're going to the new house now," Sora said slowly.

xXx

The new house was bigger than their old one, Fujimoto no longer had to share a room with his brother. Painted on the outside a fresh white, it stood facing the sea half way between the small town, and a cliff with one lonely house sat on top.

Fujimoto, after exploring the four bedrooms, finally picked the smallest room facing out to the sea with a window seat, its walls already painted light blue. "I'm glad you've got that room, it's tiny. Who'd want it?" Sora said over the table after it was decided.

Glancing from his meal, Fujimoto shrugged but smiled. "It has the sea as a view. I like it."

"Urgh, you're in love with it. Its only water like in the bath."

"Silly Sora, it is beautiful. And full of life!"

Aimi swung her legs and arms, grinning. Fujimoto smiled across at her, holding back a laugh. "Yeah, it's beautiful!"

Takeshi looked across at them, the smile on his face growing. "How about, tomorrow we go to the beach? So Fujimoto can get a proper look at the sea?"

Both Fuijimoto and Aimi turned to look at their father, excitement sparkling in their eyes. "But only if you sort your rooms out a little," came the words of Liz.

Sora smiled while his sibling's grins fell. But they both quickly turned back to their plates, finishing what was left before running from the table to tidy things away. "You'd take them anyway, even if they hadn't finished their room."

Liz just smiled over at him, agreeing silently.

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**AN; I wrote the grandmother as I did, as although his brother doesn't like him, I can see him never really doing anything past doing what brothers do with more conflicts. I can see his grandmother being someone who is forceful and always trying to to get things her way, and so be Fujimoto's main 'enemy' as a child. **


	4. Chapter three, First Glance

**AN: Shorter chapter, since if I had left this with the other part of the chapter, it would have gotten very long. I'm not a total big fan of long chapters, and while working on this I had started to find out how long _Just A Weekend, I'm Hungry!_ chapter was getting. Really dislike long chapters as its a lot to check, a lot to process and a lot for someone to read. So, yeah...**

**If you read both _Just A Weekend_ and _Gake no Ue no Fujimoto_, do you have a favourite? This, a more direct story looking into what made Fujimoto, Fujimoto. Or, the childish fun of if Fujimoto had to spend a weekend looking after Ponyo and Sosuke. As the writer, I do prefer _Just A Weekend_, but this story is allowing me to re-invent Fujimoto's character for _Just A Weekend_**** to flow better. I think without the cheeky side I showed here, parts of _I'm Hungry!_ wouldn't have being viewable.**

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The little stuff Fujimoto did own didn't take long to find a home. Clothes, in his wardrobe. Toys, at the bottom. Books on the bookcase. And a single poster, going as high as he could standing on his bed. The only thing left were glow in the dark stars, which no matter how many times he jumped on his bed, he couldn't reach the ceiling to put them up.

With a final attempt, he finally sat down and buried himself into the cover, smelling the clean scent and sighing. From his hair, he could catch the gently smell of salt, which made him fill with excitement for the coming day. Running to the window, he stood on the window seat and pulled the top part of the window open, allowing more salty fresh air to fill the room. He smiled then sat down on the ledge to stare out to the darkened water.

"It looks so magical," he said slowly, absently playing with his hair. With the sun finally having disappeared, it had allowed the deep night sky to form in a early purple cast, allowing the moon to start its rise. Fujimoto stayed sat in the dark. Just listening. And watching the stars appearing in the reflection in the gentle waves. It was lulling him gently, making him slump against the cold glass.

It was as his eyes began to close, a small light passed through the water. Not as a boat or reflection, but something that came from beneath the water. Fujimoto blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes and watching it dazed. His mouth opened slightly as it finally disappeared, either beneath the water or from a dark point of the land. "Was that a fish?"

He blinked again, and checked to see if he was still awake, before hearing footsteps coming up the stairs. He took one last look at the now empty sea then with a confused look, closed the window in time for his father to walk in. "Bed time. Been an exciting day, and we've got another one tomorrow."

While Fujimoto prepared for bed, brushing his teeth in a shared sink with his brother and sister, changing into striped pyjamas of blue, and allowing his mother to gently comb his hair while his father put the stars on the ceiling, he stayed silent on the strange fish. Hoping he'd see it tomorrow to discover exactly what fish it was.


	5. Chapter four, Rock Pool

**Sorry for long wait... studies got in the way, so I had to stop writing. However, new chapter now. And hope you enjoy it. Just got to continue writing it now. :)**

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Fujimoto ran into the sea spray, covering his face from the chilled water, but laughed as he ran from the waves in rhythm.

It wasn't long of the following morning before they had walked to the beach, finding a small nearly abandoned area to settle in. Sora and Aimi had taken to swimming in the water and playing games, while Fujimoto stayed in the shallow waves unable to join them.

Turning from a bigger wave, Fujimoto shook his hair from his face as the wave became nothing but foam, and then ran along the beach, exploring the unknown. He climbed over a tall circle of rocks, moving around a small cliff side before he stopped near a smaller circle of rocks, going into the sand filled with trapped water. He knelt to the ground and peered into the clear water, catching glimpses of the different coloured fish. Yellow, white, grey and around the edge a blue fish, all swimming around in the small section of water.

Fujimoto grinned, touching the water gently to disperse it, watching as the fish swam away and down a cut away to the ocean. He pulled his finger back, giggling to himself before he noticed one fish still in the pool. The blue fish; which now seemed to stare at him. It stood out from the other fish, or any fish Fujimoto had seen on that single day. It was pale blue in colour, but it seemed to have hair upon a humanoid head. Red dots decorated it in a pattern, creating the final elegant look of the fish.

Glancing up to check no one else was around to steal his find, Fujimoto took a deep breath and without thought said, "I'm Fujimoto. What fish are you?"

He lent much closer to the fish, using the rocks to prevent him from falling in while getting a closer look at the creature. He blinked at the fish, smiling before the fish blinked back, splashing water out the pool. Sitting back, the young boy smiled, quickly rubbing the water from his face and placing his hand back into the pool. The fish swam around his fingers, before hiding in the shade his hand had created. "You're a strange fish."

He waved his fingers around before reluctantly removing his hand and standing up. He took another glance around before stepping on one of the rocks and jumping over to the other side. He followed the small narrow cut in the sand from the pool, before standing in knee deep water. The fish from earlier swam in circles before once again swimming away.

Looking to the other fish, Fujimoto saw that it was too big to pass through the cut, and clearly had been trapped by the deeper tide. Frowning slightly, he walked back and swiftly picked the fish up gently. It flopped in his hand once, before becoming still.

Panicking, he poked the fish before moving to put her back in the water at the end of the cut way. The fish stayed still for a short moment, before finally swimming and turning in the deeper water around his legs.

Fujimoto let a sigh out, placing his hands on his knees and eyes closed. When he opened them again, he stared at the fish before laughing.

"Shouldn't you be swimming off now?"

The fish seemed to look up at him and watch him. Even with the ocean just a few steps away, the fish continued to stay around him, swimming peacefully.

"You definitely are a strange fish," he said, laughing again while he splashed in the water. The fish seemed to bob its head in agreement, before finally hiding in his shadow again. He smiled lazily, sitting on the rocks edge for comfort, and not thinking how strange it was to be-friend the fish. He was just pleased to have found something as wonderful as the ocean itself.

xXx

As then sun started its sharp decent, Fujimoto sighed while his legs floated in the water, running dry sand through his fingers. The fish had stayed with him the whole afternoon, hiding in his shadow from the sun. But now, as the water began to get deeper, Fujimoto knew he'd have to go.

Pulling his legs out the water, gently startling the fish, he looked down into the clear water. "I have to go now. And so should you, I bet it's bad for you to stay in this shallow water."

Turning around, he ran back over the rocks and finally out of sight around the cliff edge, leaving the fish to jump from the water a couple of times. When the shadow of Fujimoto disappeared, the fish moved to the rock edge. She used the lower rocks to pull herself out the water slight, opened her mouth wide a couple of times until a sound came out. "Fuji... moto?"


End file.
